Discovery method and apparatuses and system for discovery

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to methods, apparatuses, systems and computer program products for discovery of nearby devices ( 510, 520, 525, 540, 545 ). To facilitate discovery of nearby, i.e. proximal, devices, a discovery control signal ( 570, 572, 574, 576, 578 ) from a control device ( 530 ) may be used to control the discovery, e.g. how or when the discovery is carried out. The devices may send status information of their status to be used by the control device or the control system for forming the discovery control signal. The control device, e.g. a server, may form the discovery control signal based on this status information. Discovery of proximal devices may then be carried out based on the received discovery control signal.

BACKGROUND

As the capabilities of portable computers and communication devicesdevelop, new ways of collaboration have become possible. For example, inaddition to sending information from one device to another via a mobilecommunication network, devices may be able to communicate directly fromdevice to device, or use a local network such as WLAN to sendinformation to each other. Users of these devices may thus be able towork together utilizing such device-to-device communication. To be ableto do so, the devices need to be connected to each other over acommunication channel. Current ways of manually searching for devices towhich a connection can be formed are sometimes cumbersome andinefficient.

There is, therefore, a need for solutions that provide for efficientways to discover devices that are in the vicinity of the user's device.

SUMMARY

Now there has been invented an improved method and technical equipmentimplementing the method, by which the above challenge is alleviated.Various aspects of the invention include methods, apparatuses, systemsand computer program products comprising computer programs, which arecharacterized by what is stated in the independent claims. Variousembodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.

The invention relates to methods, apparatuses, systems and computerprogram products for discovery of nearby devices. To facilitatediscovery of nearby, i.e. proximal, devices, a discovery control signalfrom a control device may be used to control the discovery, e.g. how orwhen the discovery is carried out. The devices may send statusinformation of their status to be used by the control device or thecontrol system for forming the discovery control signal. The controldevice, e.g. a server, may form the discovery control signal based onthis status information. Discovery of proximal devices may then becarried out based on the received discovery control signal.

For example, the information on power source and the status of the powersource (e.g. how much charge remains in a battery) may be used by thesystem to decide which device will carry out discovery and in which rolethe devices will act in the discovery. By selecting the most suitabledevices to carry out the most power-consuming part of discovery, thesystem may make it possible to save energy on battery-powered devicesand thereby lengthen their operating time. Other status information likeavailable discovery channels, movement information and social networkinformation may be used to control the discovery of proximal devices.

According to a first aspect there is provided a method, comprisingsending status information to a control device, receiving a discoverycontrol signal from a control device, the discovery control signalhaving been formed at least partially based on the status information,and carrying out discovery of proximal devices based on the discoverycontrol signal.

According to an embodiment, the method comprises determining alimitation of using a first discovery channel, and forming the statusinformation using information of the determined limitation of using thefirst discovery channel. According to an embodiment, the methodcomprises carrying out the discovery of proximal devices using a seconddiscovery channel, the second discovery channel being different from thefirst discovery channel, based on the discovery control signal.According to an embodiment, the method comprises carrying out thediscovery on a discovery channel in a synchronized manner to anotherdevice based on the discovery control signal, the discovery controlsignal comprising synchronization information for carrying out thediscovery. According to an embodiment, the method comprises forming thestatus information to comprise information on a type of power source ofa device such as battery power or mains. According to an embodiment, themethod comprises forming the status information to comprise informationon power source state of a device such as remaining battery energy.According to an embodiment, the method comprises carrying out thediscovery based on the discovery control signal and the power sourcestate, for example by determining discovery frequency at least partiallybased on remaining battery energy. According to an embodiment, themethod comprises determining a density measure indicative of proximaldevices, for example using a number of detected devices or detectednetworks, and forming the status information to comprise information onthe density measure. According to an embodiment, the method comprisesforming the status information to comprise information on physicalmovement of a device, for example by using an accelerometer. Accordingto an embodiment, the method comprises determining a coarse proximityinformation related to at least one radio channel, the coarse proximityinformation comprising information on availability of the radio channelat a device, and forming the status information to comprise informationon the coarse proximity information. According to an embodiment, themethod comprises forming the status information to comprise informationon social network related to a device. According to an embodiment, themethod comprises avoiding or reducing discovery based on at least onefrom the group of limitation of discovery channel, type of power sourceof a device, status of power source of a device, density of devices,physical movement of a device, available radio channels at a device, andsocial network information related to devices. According to anembodiment, the method comprises sending proximity information ofdiscovered proximal devices to the control device for creation of thediscovery control signal based on the proximity information.

According to a second aspect there is provided a method, comprisingreceiving status information from at least one device, forming adiscovery control signal based at least partially on the received statusinformation, and sending the discovery control signal to a first devicefor controlling discovery of proximal devices. According to anembodiment, the method comprises determining a limitation of using afirst discovery channel from the status information, and based on thelimitation, forming the discovery control signal to comprise aninstruction for carrying out the discovery of proximal devices using asecond discovery channel, the second discovery channel being differentfrom the first discovery channel. According to an embodiment, the methodcomprises forming the discovery control signal to comprise aninstruction and synchronization information for carrying out thediscovery on a discovery channel in a synchronized manner to anotherdevice based on the discovery control signal. According to anembodiment, the method comprises forming the discovery control signalbased on information on a type of power source for at least one device.According to an embodiment, the method comprises forming the discoverycontrol signal based on information on a status of a power source for atleast one device. According to an embodiment, the method comprisesforming the discovery control signal to comprise information forcarrying out the discovery based on the type of power source or thepower source state, for example by determining discovery frequency atleast partially based on remaining battery energy. According to anembodiment, the method comprises determining a density measure forlocation of devices; for example using a number of detected devices ordetected networks, and/or from the status information; and forming thediscovery control signal based on the density measure. According to anembodiment, the method comprises forming the discovery control signalbased on physical movement of a device, for example by using informationfrom an accelerometer or positioning unit. According to an embodiment,the method comprises determining a coarse proximity information relatedto at least one radio channel, the coarse proximity informationcomprising information on availability of the radio channel at a device,and forming the discovery control signal based on the coarse proximityinformation. According to an embodiment, the method comprises formingthe discovery control signal based on information on social networkrelated to a device. According to an embodiment, the method comprisesforming the discovery control signal to comprise information and/orinstructions for avoiding or reducing discovery based on at least onefrom the group of limitation of discovery channel, type of power sourceof a device, status of power source of a device, density of devices,physical movement of a device, available radio channels at a device, andsocial network information related to devices. According to anembodiment, the method comprises receiving the status information for aplurality of devices, and selecting at least one device to carry out thediscovery based on the received status information. According to anembodiment, the method comprises receiving proximity information ofdiscovered proximal devices, forming the discovery control signal basedon the proximity information. According to an embodiment, the methodcomprises forming a proximity graph of a plurality of devices, formingthe discovery control signal using the proximity graph. According to anembodiment, the method comprises traversing the proximity graph todetect proximal devices using the proximity graph thereby avoidingdiscovery at least partially, and using status information from at leastone device to limit the graph traversal. According to an embodiment, thestatus information comprises coarse proximity information, and thetraversing is limited to comprise devices in the same coarse proximityarea. According to an embodiment, the method comprises at leastpartially avoiding the traversing and/or the discovery by detecting thatsufficient proximity information exists for a group of devices.According to an embodiment, the group is a social group such as friendsin a social network service.

According to a third aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprisingat least one processor, memory including computer program code, thememory and the computer program code configured to, with the at leastone processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method according tothe first or second aspect and embodiments thereof.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a system comprising atleast one processor, memory including computer program code, the memoryand the computer program code configured to, with the at least oneprocessor, cause the system to perform the method according to the firstor second aspect and embodiments thereof.

According to a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus with meansfor carrying out the parts of the method of the first or second aspectand embodiments thereof.

According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a system with means forcarrying out the parts of the method of the first or second aspect andembodiments thereof.

According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer programproduct embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium,comprising computer program code configured to, when executed on atleast one processor, cause an apparatus or a system to send statusinformation to a control device, receive a discovery control signal froma control device, the discovery control signal having been formed atleast partially based on the status information, and carry out discoveryof proximal devices based on the discovery control signal.

According to an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer programproduct embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium,comprising computer program code configured to, when executed on atleast one processor, cause an apparatus or a system to receive statusinformation from at least one device, form a discovery control signalbased at least partially on the received status information, and sendthe discovery control signal to a first device for controlling discoveryof proximal devices.

According to a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer programproduct embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium,comprising computer program code configured to, when executed on atleast one processor, cause an apparatus or a system to carry out themethod according to the first or second aspect and embodiments thereof.

According to a tenth aspect, there is provided use of status informationof at least one device in forming a control signal at a second devicefor controlling in a first device discovery of proximal third devices.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, various embodiments of the invention will be describedin more detail with reference to the appended drawings, in which

FIGS. 1 a, 1 b and 1 c show flow charts of methods according to exampleembodiments;

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b show a system and devices according to exampleembodiments;

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show example systems for proximity-based services;

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b show proximity graphs according to exampleembodiments;

FIGS. 5 a, 5 b, 5 c and 5 d illustrate proximity detection arrangementsand operation according to example embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows a signaling diagram for controlling proximity detectionaccording to an example embodiment;

FIGS. 7 a and 7 b show flow charts for discovery of proximal devicesaccording to example embodiments; and

FIG. 7 c shows a flow chart for a system where discovery of proximaldevices is facilitated according to an example embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

In the following, several embodiments of the invention will be describedin the context of discovery of proximal devices. It is to be noted,however, that the invention is not limited to discovery. In fact, thedifferent embodiments have applications widely in any environment whereoptimization of forming communication connections between devices isrequired.

In the following, the various embodiments are explained with referenceto systems that utilize proximity of other devices, e.g. sharing andmulti-player game applications. Proximity of other devices may bedetected e.g. when the application is started, that is, a discovery maybe carried out. An application may try to e.g. create a Bluetoothconnection to other devices for peer-to-peer communication.

In various embodiments, there may be a system of proximity-basedservices where the services are typically joint actions for severaldevices collaborating based on their proximity, that is, actions andservices are available depending on other devices that are nearby.

For example, there may be envisioned smart space concepts in nomadicenvironments based on devices that are in the proximity of each other.There may not be many devices/services that are fixed in the space, andthe proximity and connection configuration may be changing when devicesare moving. For such envisioned concepts it may be useful to find outwhich devices are in the proximity of each other. The variousembodiments may be applied to group forming, as well. Many multi-user orcollaborative applications and services require a notion of a group ofusers/devices. The embodiments may be used for a real-world based groupforming technique, that is, to find devices/people that are nearby.Sharing and other collaborative applications may then utilize ad hocgroups formed in such manner.

Proximity information may be sensed by the devices using short rangeradios, light, sound etc., to find other devices that are in theproximity. Positioning techniques (GPS, indoor positioning) may be used,as well. In addition, some use cases may utilize additional informationin addition to the proximity (distance)—it may be useful to know e.g.which devices are in the same room so that they can interact with eachother. Proximity sensing based on radio signals may lack thisinformation and other techniques may be used, e.g. audio beacon or light(e.g. infrared).

For some use cases it may be sufficient that one device is searching thenearby devices once an application or a task is launched. The proximitysensing may be quite slow, e.g. with Bluetooth it may take several tensof seconds, depending on the number of devices in the proximity. In ageneral case, for prolonged use and for faster response, the proximityinformation may be kept up-to-date all the time. The proximityinformation may be presented as a graph where a node denotes a deviceand an edge denotes the proximity.

In the present invention, it has been noticed that there may be problemsin a traditional, straightforward proximity sensing/discovery approach.For example, several devices may use the same sensing technique at thesame time, and this may disturb or completely block the sensing. Forexample, if several devices are performing Bluetooth discovery at thesame time, the discovery may fail on all devices, i.e., no devices arefound. As another example, it has been noticed that two-way sensing maybe unnecessary: if A is in B's proximity, it is enough that only one ofthe devices is performing the sensing. In other words, it has beennoticed that the overall functionality of discovery is not optimized.Moreover, proximity sensing may require resources like battery power,and more efficient ways of carrying out proximity sensing are needed.

FIGS. 1 a, 1 b and 1 c show flow charts of methods according to exampleembodiments. In an example embodiment operating in one or more userdevices as in FIG. 1 a, status information is sent to a control devicein phase 110. Status information may comprise information concerninge.g. a limitation of using a discovery channel at a certain device, atype and/or a status of a power source of a device, the density ofdevices, movement and other physical parameters of a device, some coarseproximity information like a cell identifier of a GSM or WLAN cell, or asocial network group related to a device. The sending may happen bysending a message or a signal from a user device to a control device, orthe sending may take place so that status information on a device isprovided to be accessible across an interface, e.g. from the user deviceor from a service (another device or computer). Based on this statusinformation, a control device may form a discovery control signal, andthe user device may receive the discovery control signal in phase 120.The discovery control signal may be received by one, two or moredevices, e.g. all devices in a certain area, to control the discoverythat the devices carry out. Devices carry out discovery to find otherdevices in their proximity, that is, other devices to which acommunication connection could be formed. Devices may also be instructedto help to locate or position other devices without the need to form acommunication connection between devices. For example, the device mayhave information on nearby devices in its memory, and this informationmay be provided to a proximity server. The controlling of the discoverymay comprise e.g. selecting the discovery channel (e.g. Bluetooth orWLAN), and/or the frequency and/or timing of carrying out the discovery.Discovery channel may be understood to mean a physical radio connectionsuch as BlueTooth or WLAN, a configuration of a data connection forexample including an address or network identification, name of anaccess point, connection parameters etc. Discovery channel may also beany other way of determining whether other devices are in the proximityor are reachable by a communication connection. Discovery channel maythus mean e.g. any means and/or setup of determining and/or finding outand/or locating nearby devices. In phase 130, the discovery is carriedout at least partially based on the discovery control signal. To use theinformation of the discovery control signal may allow an individual userdevice to avoid discovery at least partially, or to perform thediscovery in an efficient manner, e.g. in synchrony with another device.Thus, the device may save energy or avoid interfering with othercommunication.

In FIG. 1 b, operation of a proximity server or a proximity service isdepicted. In phase 140, status information of one or more devices isreceived or retrieved. Based on the status information, the proximityserver or service may determine, for example, which devices will carryout discovery. For example, it may be decided by the proximity server orservice that one or more devices that are connected to the mains powerwill act as a transmitter in discovery, while one or more devicesrunning on battery power will act as receiver, or in a way that a mainspowered device carries out the most power consuming operations, e.g. inBT LE discovery channel, the device may perform the scanning while otherdevices carry out the advertisement. The proximity server may alsodetermine time-wise synchronization of two or more devices for carryingout synchronization. To be able to control the devices, e.g. end-userdevices or other network elements, the proximity server may form adiscovery control signal (e.g. a discovery control message to be sent toa device) in phase 150. The discovery control signal may compriseinstructions and/or information to devices for carrying out discovery.For example, timing information or instructions not to carry outdiscovery may be included in the discovery control signal. When thediscovery control signal has been formed, e.g. a message has been formedto be sent, or the discovery control information has been provided to beaccessible at an interface like and internet service, the discoverycontrol signal is delivered or provided to be accessible to a device inphase 160. The device may then receive or access the discovery controlsignal and carry out discovery accordingly.

FIG. 1 c depicts the operation of a system according to an exampleembodiment. In phase 170, status information from one or more devices isobtained and delivered to a control device or a control system, as wasdescribed in context of phase 110 above. In phase 180, discovery controlsignal is formed at a control system, like in phase 150, and sent to atleast one device in phase 190. In phase 195, discovery of proximaldevices is carried out in an orchestrated manner so that the devicestaking part to discovery operate in optimal manner regarding theirresources and regarding timing of discovery messages.

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b show a system and devices for controlling discoveryaccording to an embodiment. In FIG. 2 a, the different devices may beconnected via a fixed network 210 such as the Internet or a local areanetwork; or a mobile communication network 220 such as the Global Systemfor Mobile communications (GSM) network, 3rd Generation (3G) network,3.5th Generation (3.5G) network, 4th Generation (4G) network, WirelessLocal Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth®, or other contemporary and futurenetworks. Different networks are connected to each other by means of acommunication interface 280. The networks comprise network elements suchas routers and switches to handle data (not shown), and communicationinterfaces such as the base stations 230 and 231 in order for providingaccess for the different devices to the network, and the base stations230, 231 are themselves connected to the mobile network 220 via a fixedconnection 276 or a wireless connection 277.

There may be a number of servers connected to the network, and in theexample of FIG. 2 a are shown a server 240 for offering a networkservice for proximity service and controlling proximal discovery andconnected to the fixed network 210, a server 241 for processing (e.g.filtering) proximity data and connected to the fixed network 210, and aserver 242 for offering a network service e.g. a social networkingservice and connected to the mobile network 220. Some of the abovedevices, for example the computers 240, 241, 242 may be such that theymake up the Internet with the communication elements residing in thefixed network 210.

There are also a number of end-user devices such as mobile phones andsmart phones 251, Internet access devices (Internet tablets) 250,personal computers 260 of various sizes and formats, televisions andother viewing devices 261, video decoders and players 262, as well asvideo cameras 263 and other encoders. These devices 250, 251, 260, 261,262 and 263 can also be made of multiple parts. The various devices maybe connected to the networks 210 and 220 via communication connectionssuch as a fixed connection 270, 271, 272 and 280 to the internet, awireless connection 273 to the internet 210, a fixed connection 275 tothe mobile network 220, and a wireless connection 278, 279 and 282 tothe mobile network 220. The connections 271-282 are implemented by meansof communication interfaces at the respective ends of the communicationconnection.

FIG. 2 b shows devices for controlling proximal device discoveryaccording to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2 b, the server 240contains memory 245, one or more processors 246, 247, and computerprogram code 248 residing in the memory 245 for implementing, forexample, proximity service functionality. The different servers 241, 242may contain at least these same elements for employing functionalityrelevant to each server. Similarly, the end-user device 251 containsmemory 252, at least one processor 253 and 256, and computer programcode 254 residing in the memory 252 for implementing, for example,controlled discovery of proximal devices. The end-user device may alsohave one or more cameras 255 and 259 for capturing image data, forexample video. The end-user device may also contain one, two or moremicrophones 257 and 258 for capturing sound. The different end-userdevices 250, 260 may contain at least these same elements for employingfunctionality relevant to each device. The end user devices may alsocomprise a screen for viewing a graphical user interface. The end-userdevices and servers may also comprise various communication modules orcommunication functionalities implemented in one module forcommunicating with other devices and for carrying out discovery ofnearby devices.

The various end-user devices and servers may take the form ofcommunication devices, or other devices having communication capability.For example, the devices may be toys, home appliances like kitchenmachines, entertainment devices (TV, music/media devices), or even partsof the building, clothes, vehicles, or any other devices that maycommunicate with each other and whose discovery may thus be controlled.

It needs to be understood that different embodiments allow differentparts to be carried out in different elements. For example, determiningproximity information or handling a discovery control signal may becarried out entirely in one user device like 250, 251 or 260, or in oneserver device 240, 241, or 242, or across multiple user devices 250,251, 260 or across multiple network devices 240, 241, 242, or acrossboth user devices 250, 251, 260 and network devices 240, 241, 242. Forexample, the proximity information may be formed and stored in onedevice, the discovery of proximal devices may happen in another deviceand the control of the proximity discovery may be carried out in a thirddevice (e.g. a server). The relevant software for carrying out thefunctionality may reside on one device or distributed across severaldevices, as mentioned above, for example so that the devices form aso-called cloud.

The different embodiments may be implemented as software running onmobile devices and optionally on servers. The mobile phones may beequipped at least with a memory, processor, display, keypad, motiondetector hardware, and communication means such as 2G, 3G, WLAN, orother. The different devices may have hardware like a touch screen(single-touch or multi-touch) and means for positioning like networkpositioning or a global positioning system (GPS) module. There may bevarious applications on the devices such as a calendar application, acontacts application, a map application, a messaging application, abrowser application, a gallery application, a video player applicationand various other applications for office and/or private use. Thedevices may have various communication modules for communicating withother devices and discovering proximal devices.

The proximity server may maintain a proximity graph for use in variousservices. The proximity information may be filtered for variousservices, e.g. a dating service, and this filtering may happen at theproximity server or at another unit. A service server (e.g. for thedating service) may receive notifications of changes in devices'proximity groups from the filtering unit and produce the actual servicewhich is visible to the end user. In the various embodiments, theproximal discovery of other devices may be controlled and orchestratede.g. by the proximity server or another server.

In a proximity service provided by the proximity server a device noticese.g. through discovery with a short-range radio that it is in anotherdevice's proximity and communicates this information to the proximityserver that in turn provides this information for use in services basedon proximity. The system may provide and use proximity information fore.g. proximity gaming, messaging, media streaming between devices etc.The proximity information may comprise information like discovereddevice identifications, WiFi access point information, cellular networkcell id and such. The server may create a proximity graph.

Devices may discover other devices in the proximity using severalheterogeneous techniques and provide this information to a proximityserver. The proximity server may store and maintain the proximityinformation up-to-date, e.g. as a graph or more specifically, a datastructure storing connection information (edges) between nodes andconnection attributes. Radio-based environment fingerprinting (e.g. RSSIand device identification information) may be reported to the proximityserver as well. This fingerprinting information may be collected duringnormal communication operation, and hence no position or localconnection related measurements may be needed. The proximity server maycombine this fingerprinting information reported by different devicesand orchestrate local measurements based on this information.

The proximity server may orchestrate the devices' discovery based on thecurrent and past proximity information, e.g. the proximity graph. Thismay allow global optimization for the proximity discovery (sensing) toreduce power consumption, discovery collisions, and to get more accurateproximity information by controlling the use of heterogeneous sensingtechnologies available on the devices. For example, the server mayinstruct or control the devices to use a certain discovery technique(WLAN, Bluetooth, sound beacon, infrared beacon) and/or a certain power(e.g. radio transmission power, sound volume), and also regulate whichdevices and when will perform the discovery. This controlling orinstructing may happen by using a discovery control signal, e.g. sendingparameters to the devices on how they perform discovery, and the devicesmay then use these parameters. The devices may also modify the receivedparameters or discovery control information.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show example systems for proximity-based services.

One system for proximity-based services is presented in FIG. 3 a.Proximity Server PS may orchestrate proximity sensing and maintain aproximity graph of devices as explained later in this description. Thejoint actions/collaborative applications, in which the devicesparticipate, may have a precondition requiring that devices are, e.g. 1)in the proximity of each other (PS), 2) “friends”, or more accuratelythey belong to the same social group or their social distance is smallerthan a given threshold, e.g. the human owners are friends/in the samegroup, they are friends of a friend etc., and/or 3) capable to performtheir part or role in the joint action/collaborative application, e.g.in an interaction dialog devices need to be able to communicate witheach other.

A social network server SN may provide social network information. Aconfigurator CFG may take the information from SN and PS, and theconfigurator CFG itself may have information about each device'scapabilities. Combining this information with the precondition of eachaction, the configurator CFG may produce a list of possible actionsfulfilling the preconditions. An action is picked from the list ofpossible actions based on e.g. some ranking algorithm. The orchestratorORC may be responsible for executing the action by sending a controlsignal to participating devices to execute a role as specified in theaction description, e.g. Device A has a storage containing a JPEG image(a photo source), Device B is a public display (sink for JPEG images).

FIG. 3 b presents one system configuration. A proximity Server PS maystore the discovery data sensed by the Device A, B and C. There may be atwo-way connection “CON” between each device and the Proximity Server,or transport of information may be arranged in another manner, e.g.using a packet network. Devices may be using various, heterogeneoustechniques to discover the proximity of other devices, e.g. Bluetoothdiscovery, WLAN access point information, cellular base stationinformation, GPS and other satellite-based location information, variousindoor positioning techniques (based on e.g. WLAN, BT) and/or light orsound beacons (beacons fixed in the space or one mobile device acting asa beacon). The proximity server PS may post-process the discovery data.

When a device joins the system, the proximity server may create arepresentation of the device—e.g. a node in a graph. In the simplestform, the server may control each device by sending a discovery controlsignal to the device instructing when (or how often) the device shouldsense its surroundings to perform a discovery, and which technology touse, e.g. with an instruction containing the information “Perform aBluetooth scan periodically every 120 seconds with power level 3”.

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b show proximity graphs according to exampleembodiments.

In FIG. 4 a, the various devices are represented by nodes A, B, C, D andE. Device A is in the proximity of all other devices B, C, D and E.Device B is in the proximity of device A (reciprocally) and with devicesC and E. Device C is proximal to all other devices, and device D isproximal to devices A and C. Device E is proximal to devices A, B and C.It needs to be noted that the proximity of two devices with each othermay be discovered by one device, e.g. device A may discover device D,and it may be deduced that device A is also proximal to device D withoutdevice D doing any discovery. That is, proximity may be interpreted tobe reciprocal.

In an embodiment, the proximity server PS may orchestrate the devicesbased on the current and past proximity graph information. The proximityinformation may thus be stored as a graph as depicted in FIG. 4 a. Thegraph edges may have e.g. the following information: 1) a distancebetween devices, estimated from the discovery and expressed e.g. inmeters, 2) time stamp indicating the time when the discovery of theproximity data corresponding to the edge was carried out and 3)additional proximity data, e.g. indicating whether the devices aretouching (detected e.g. with NFC), in the same_room, or in thesame_building.

In FIG. 4 b, the same proximity graph as in FIG. 4 a shows properties ofthe proximity connections (the edges of the graph). For example, theproximity between devices A and E has the properties of a distance of0.1 meters, the information that the devices are touching (e.g. throughNFC), and a time stamp when the proximity was discovered.

The proximity server PS may also keep track of what capabilities eachdevice has for proximity discovery and the status of each technique.This is illustrated in the below table.

Device: Device A Sensing technique Status Data Bluetooth Active DeviceB, Device C GPS Inactive — Cell ID Connected LAC: 18994 Cell ID: 40992MCC: 310 MNC: 1040 . . . . . . . . .

In the table, each device (shown here for device A only) may have a listof sensing (discovery) techniques for discovering proximal devices. Suchtechniques, or discovery channels, may be, as shown, e.g. Bluetooth,GPS, cellular network Cell ID and others. Each discovery channel mayhave an associated status information such as active, inactive andconnected. For each discovery channel, there may be additional proximityinformation such as discovered proximal device identifiers (shown forBluetooth), or cell identification information. It needs to be notedthat it may be relevant information for the system that no proximaldevices have been discovered (found), that is, it can be expected thatthere are no devices to communicate with. This information can also bestored in the system.

FIGS. 5 a, 5 b, 5 c and 5 d illustrate proximity detection arrangementsand operation according to example embodiments in various situations.for example, depending on the application, proximity sensing may have tobe performed quite frequently by the devices. This results in powerconsumption on the battery-operated mobile devices.

Server orchestration (control) of discovery is used to control thedevices' proximity sensing in order to reduce the power consumption onbattery powered devices and/or to improve the perceived user experienceby controlling the proximity sensing based on current device status. Inthe described system the devices sensing the proximity of other devicescommunicate this information to server which maintains the proximityinformation in a graph. Besides, the proximity information the devicesmay communicate various kinds of status information (like batterycharging level, is the device connected to a charger and various sensordata) to the server.

Discovery control may be carried out, for example, in the followingsituations:

-   -   Bluetooth optimization by orchestrating the discovery process    -   Minimizing proximity sensing on battery-powered devices    -   Reducing proximity sensing on devices with low battery    -   Reducing proximity sensing in dense device sets    -   Using hierarchical proximity information to limit devices from        carrying out intensive proximity sensing    -   Performing server-side optimizations to reduce the complexity of        graph traversal based on hierarchical proximity data    -   Minimizing proximity sensing for stationary devices

As an example of orchestrating the measurements of the devices, aProximity Server PS may instruct device A to start Bluetooth discovery(inquiry) and at the same time, in a synchronized manner, PS is tellingdevice C to start continuous inquiry scanning. In this example devicesmay be carrying out the discovery for approximately 25 ms for A to get aresponse, while without synchronization the discovery may takeapproximately 5-10 s. This advantage may be achieved through timesynchronization of devices by the proximity server. Without theproximity server, this synchronization information is not known and adevice has to perform long inquiry and the other device has to performperiodic scanning. In addition, Bluetooth discovery may take a lot oftime and it may in practice block WLAN operation during discovery.Limiting Bluetooth discovery operation to a shorter period leaves moretime to WLAN operation and hence limits the blackouts to WLAN traffic.

FIG. 5 a depicts an embodiment for optimization of discovery in anenvironment with multiple simultaneously available radio channels, suchas Bluetooth 550 and WLAN 560, 565. In such an environment, proximitydetection and distance estimation may be chosen to be performed with themost appropriate technology available. For example, if there islimitation to use Bluetooth 550, e.g. BT headset 515 is used over theBluetooth connection 550 in a phone call of a device 510, the ProximityServer 530 may order a device (520, 525) to perform measurements withWLAN. PS 530 may order one device 520 to perform probe functionality incertain channel and another device to perform scanning on that samechannel. The scanning device may be activated first and then the otherdevice 510 using the BT headset may perform a short probe functionalitycontrolled by the PS 530; in this way the Bluetooth link is notdisturbed. The controlling of the devices may happen via various signals570, 572, 574, for example control messages as shown in FIG. 5 b.

FIG. 5 b depicts an embodiment where proximity sensing onbattery-powered devices and/or devices with low batter is reduced oravoided. In environments where some devices 520, 510, 540 are batteryoperated and some devices 525, 545 are mains-powered, or they areconnected to a charger, the proximity server orchestrates mains-powereddevices to perform proximity scanning more frequently than batteryoperated ones. Devices communicate the charger connection status ormains powered device type to the proximity server. This information isused to control the proximity sensing schemes of devices, for example bysetting the proximity sensing frequency or selecting the device to carryout the most power-consuming role 580, 582 (e.g. requiring most radiotransmissions) in proximity discovery.

Devices with low battery may perform less frequent sensing than otherdevices having more battery capacity left. This may be implemented sothat devices communicate the charge level of their batteries to theserver, which then computes globally optimized parameters for carryingout proximity discovery for devices in each other's proximity, and sendsthem to the devices. In a simpler example, the device itself may decideon the proximity sensing: the sensing frequency may be a functionmapping the charging state to the sensing frequency. These twoapproaches may also be combined so that the device receives a discoverycontrol signal 570, 572, 574, 576, 578 from the proximity server 530 andcarries out proximity sensing based on the control signal and adjustingaccording to the power level. This adjustment according to power levelmay be communicated to the proximity server.

Moreover, proportional power consumption of the proximity sensing mayvary with device type: proximity sensing may not noticeably reduceoperating time of a battery-powered laptop compared to a mobile phone,since proximity sensing is proportionally lighter task on a laptop eventhough the absolute power consumption may be bigger. This information ofthe relative power required for proximity discovery may also be used inglobal optimization.

FIG. 5 c depicts an embodiment where a proximity sensing is reduced indense device sets. When many devices are in each other's proximity,continuous sensing produces redundant information (especially in themiddle of a proximity group same devices keep on sensing each other),since the devices continuously sense the same devices. Reducing sensingin this kind of setting prevents the server from experiencing flood ofredundant proximity information and significantly reduces the powerconsumption on the devices. Devices 510, 511, 512, 513 and 540 arephysically close to each other and thus form a dense device set. This isdetermined by the proximity server 530 e.g. from earlier proximitysensing information and/or from coarse proximity information (seebelow). The proximity server may send a discovery control signal 570,571 instructing to reduce proximity sensing.

Devices 520 not moving may also be instructed to sense the changes lessfrequently than devices 522 that are moving. Various sensors (e.g.accelerometer in the device, camera in the environment) may be used todetect if a device moves. If all devices in a given space arestationary, there are no changes in the proximity graphs after initialproximity sensing has been done. Proximity server 530 can receive thisinformation as device status information (“stationary device”) andminimize or completely stop the proximity sensing on this device. If anew device arrives, this new moving device causes changes to theproximity graph. Based on the new edge in the proximity graph, also theneighboring stationary devices may temporarily perform proximity sensingmore frequently until all the graph edges in the proximity graph havelikely been created.

In FIG. 5 d, an embodiment utilizing hierarchical proximity informationand/or coarse proximity information is depicted. In a setting ofhierarchical proximity, proximity information is available at differentresolutions. This may be implemented e.g. with different radiotechnologies used in proximity sensing. Cell ID of a GSM/3G radioprovides an example of a coarse proximity information, followed by WLANaccess point ID, Bluetooth discovery and finally NFC touch being themost detailed (short-range) proximity sensing channel. Other radio-basedsensing and positioning techniques (various short range radios, GPS) andnon-radio based sensing may be used as well (e.g. audio or lightbeacon+sensing). Coarse proximity information may be used to excludedevices from more detailed proximity sensing. In the following,optimizations based on hierarchical proximity information are described.

Devices hearing the same Wi-Fi access point are likely to be relativelynear to each other. This is indicated in FIG. 5 d for devices 510 and520 both hearing the Wi-Fi access point AA of the WLAN cell WLAN1. Bothdevices have their own respective Bluetooth ranges BT1 and BT2. In thiscase, the devices 510 and 520 are close enough to each other so thattheir Bluetooth receivers can hear each other's Bluetooth transmitter.The “same cell” information may be utilized so that if all possible or asufficient number of edges have been found in a local area (the sameWi-Fi), the proximity server 530 (not shown in FIG. 5 d) may deduce thatthe proximity graph is complete and the sensing interval can belengthened or suspended altogether for some devices, in this case 510and 520. For devices who are “alone” in a cell, like 511, 512, 513, 514and 525, the proximity sensing may be carried out with a regularinterval. Instead or in addition to the WLAN network, e.g. GSM/3G cellsCELL0, CELL1 etc. can be used to determine whether two devices are closeto each other. This determination may happen so that the devices sendstatus information to the proximity server 530 on the WLAN and GSM/3Gcells they hear, and the proximity server then deduces which devices maybe close to each other.

Devices of interest may be limited to a subset of devices, e.g. todevices that are “friends” via their owners' social network in a socialmedia service or in the phone books of the devices. As an example,device A 510 may be looking for friend devices X 525, Y 511 and Z 513 inthe proximity. The users of the devices A, X, Y and Z belong to the samesocial group. The social information may be delivered to the proximityserver from one or more of the devices, or it may be obtained from asocial network service or from another information storage. Also,devices having a specific capability e.g. “public display” may bedetermined to be a group of interest and the proximity search may belimited accordingly. In the case of FIG. 5 d and the social groupembodiment, all devices belonging to this group of interest are known tobe distant by cell ID from device A, and therefore more accurate sensingby device A is not needed. On the other hand, the proximity server 530may instruct devices X 525 and Y 511 to try and discover each other, forexample in a synchronized manner as described above.

A concept of a coarse proximity group may also be used to carry outdiscovery in an efficient manner. For example, if it is known from thestatus information to the proximity server that there are no otherdevices within the coarse proximity group, discovery may be omitted ormade less frequent. As an example, a user of a mobile device 513 may bealone on an island on a summer cottage, and it is clear that no otherdevices will be in the vicinity, this information may be deduced fromthe status information of which cells are heard by the device. Devices510, 520 being in the same cell (CELL0) have a mutual distance which isin the range [0, diameter(CELL0)]. This holds, because the devices canbe touching each other or—in other extreme—they can be located in theopposite sides of the cell, or they are somewhere in-between. Similarly,devices 511, 512 being in the adjacent cells (CELL1 and CELL2) have amutual distance in the range [0, diameter(CELL1)+diameter(CELL2)]. Andfinally, for devices 513 and 514 being in different non-adjacent cells(CELL3 and CELL4), the mutual distance is [distance(CELL3,CELL4),distance(CELL3,CELL4)+diameter(CELL3)+diameter(CELL4)], wheredistance(CELL3,CELL4) is the shortest path from the border of CELL3 toCELL4. In some applications, this kind of coarse proximity may besufficient in resolution, and the server may avoid actual graphtraversal for computing the proximity of each device from each other,thus saving resources (energy and computation time).

Detecting groups of interconnected devices (that may have closeproximity) may be used for server side optimization of proximity graphtraversal. Detecting local interconnected groups can be deduced from theProximity graph. However, this may require many graph traversaloperations in practice. The aforementioned radio technology hierarchycan be used here as well. The whole Proximity graph may behierarchically partitioned to subgraphs, e.g., in the layers of “samecellular base station”—“same Wi-Fi”—Bluetooth. The graph traversal canthen be limited to the appropriate partition.

In the various embodiments of FIGS. 5 a, 5 b, 5 c and 5 d, theorchestrated proximity sensing based on device status information mayimprove energy efficiency for the whole network of devices in carryingout proximity discovery. In addition, manipulating (traversing) theproximity graph on the server side is improved, resulting in easedcapacity requirements and/or better performance for the users.

FIG. 6 shows a signaling diagram for controlling proximity detectionaccording to an example embodiment.

Optimizing the sensing interval may be based on Proximity Graphconnectivity information, as depicted in FIG. 6. First, after startingthe graph update in 605, the Proximity Server initializes the periodicLocal Search process in all three devices by sending messages 610, 620,628. After carrying out local searches 615, 625, 628, devices 1 and 2report back that they have found each other as (Bluetooth) neighbors andthey both hear the same Wi-Fi access point AA by sending messages 635,640. Device 3 reports no (BT) neighbors and that it hears Wi-Fi AP BB bysending a message 645. Based on this status information, the proximityserver PS deducts in 650 that the connectivity is complete for Devices 1and 2 and, thus, their Local Search processes can be suspended for thetime being. Consequently, the proximity server sends device 1 and device2 a discovery control signal 655 and 665, whereby the devices enter idlemode 660, 670. This saves energy for both devices. Device 3 keepsrepeating the Local Search periodically, that is, after delays 675, 685device 3 carries out proximity detection and sends status information680, 690 to the proximity server.

FIG. 7 a shows a flow chart for discovery of proximal devices accordingto example embodiments. In a device, in phases 710, 711, 712, 713, 714,715 and 716, various kinds of status information may be determined. Thisdetermining may happen in any order, and some or most of the shownstatus information may be omitted. In phase 710, a limitation to use adiscovery channel, such as in FIG. 5 a, is determined. In phase 711, apower source type may be determined, and in phase 712, a status of thepower source may be determined, as in FIG. 5 b. In phase 713, a densityof devices may be determined, and in phase 714, a movement of one ormore devices may be determined, as in FIG. 5 c. In phase 715, a socialgroup related to a device may be determined, and in phase 716, coarseproximity information may be determined, as in FIG. 5 d.

In phase 720, the device may send a signal or a message, or otherwiseprovide some or all of the collected status information to be accessibleto a proximity server. In phase 722, the device may receive a discoverycontrol signal from the proximity server. In phase 724, the device mayuse this discovery control signal to adjust the parameters of carryingout discovery, e.g. adjust the frequency with which it carries outdiscovery. In phase 726, the device may select a discovery channel basedon the discovery control signal. In phase 728, the device may carry outdiscovery or omit or limit carrying out discovery based on the discoverycontrol message, and possibly other inputs like power status. In phase730, the device may provide the obtained proximity information to thecontrol device (proximity server).

The proximity information may comprise information indicative ofdistance between devices, and an identification of a discovery channelused for discovery. The discovery control signal may comprise timinginformation e.g. on timing of the discovery of proximal devices to bedone, such as a time instance or a frequency of discovery. Timinginformation may comprise e.g. the next time instance for performingdiscovery, a series of time instances for performing discovery, afrequency of discovery attempts to be performed, or other time-relatedinformation e.g. for delaying discovery by a certain time if anotherdevice is detected to be performing discovery or communication at thesame time (for collision avoidance). The device may also e.g. randomlymodify the received timing. The control signal may comprise informationon how the discovery is to be carried out (which channel to use, e.g.Bluetooth or WLAN).

FIG. 7 b show a flow chart for discovery of proximal devices accordingto example embodiments. In a proximity server, the status information ofone or more devices may be requested in phase 740. In phase 742, statusinformation may be received from or for a number of devices. From thestatus information, various statuses may be determined in phases 750,751, 752, 753, 754, 755 and 756. In phase 750, a limitation to use adiscovery channel may be determined. In phase 751, a type of powersource used by a device may be determined. In phase 752, a status of apower source of a device may be determined. In phase 753, a density ofdevices may be determined. In phase 754, a movement of one or moredevices may be determined, in phase 755, a social group of devices maybe determined. In phase 756, coarse proximity information orhierarchical proximity information may be determined.

In phase 760, based on having received status information from one ormore devices, the proximity server may build and/or traverse theproximity graph as described earlier. Based on the proximity informationand the status information, the proximity server may determine asynchronization of proximity detection for two or more devices in phase762. In phase 764, the proximity server may form a discovery controlsignal at least partially based on the status information, wherein thecontrol signal comprises information on which device, in which role andwhen will carry out the discovery. In phase 766, this discovery controlsignal, message or information may be delivered by transmitting, sendingor otherwise providing accessible to a device. In response to thediscovery control signal, devices may carry out discovery and respond bysending proximity information to the proximity server. This proximityinformation may be received in phase 768.

FIG. 7 c shows a flow chart for a system where discovery of proximaldevices is facilitated according to an example embodiment. In aproximity server, the status information of one or more devices may berequested in phase 770. In a device, status information may bedetermined in phases 780, 781, 782, 783, 784, 785 and 786 as describedfor FIG. 7 a. Correspondingly, this status information may be determinedat the proximity server when the device has delivered the statusinformation to the server in phase 790.

In phase 791, based on having received status information from one ormore devices, the proximity server may build and/or traverse theproximity graph as described earlier. Based on the proximity informationand the status information, the proximity server may determine asynchronization of proximity detection for two or more devices in phase792. In phase 793, the proximity server may form a discovery controlsignal at least partially based on the status information, wherein thecontrol signal comprises information on which device, in which role andwhen will carry out the discovery. In phase 795, this discovery controlsignal, message or information may be delivered by transmitting, sendingor otherwise providing accessible to a device. In response to thediscovery control signal, devices may carry out discovery in phase 797and respond by sending proximity information to the proximity server inphase 799. This proximity information may be received by the proximityserver.

A proximity graph may be formed using the proximity information. Forexample, the proximity graph may be updated with new information andprevious proximity graph information may be stored as history data. Anew proximity graph may be formed if a previous proximity graph does notexist. The forming and updating of the proximity graph may employtechniques for spanning a network, e.g. so that the graph is traversedstarting from one node using e.g. depth-first or breadth-firsttraversing.

In one example, the server may obtain proximity information from a firstdevice, e.g. comprising information that a second device is nearby andhas been discovered at a certain time. The server may then control thefuture discovery actions of the first device, and the server may alsocontrol the discovery actions of the second device even though thesecond device has not sent proximity information to the server. In otherwords, the proximity information, wherever it has been obtained from,may be used to control the discovery of nearby devices by any deviceregardless of whether or not that device has sent proximity informationto the server.

The proximity server PS may control which devices perform the discoveryand by which technique, and at which time. The proximity server PS maycontrol each discovery action separately or command a periodicdiscovery. The device may report the status of its sensing techniques tothe server. For example, if GPS positioning is used for some otherapplication and therefore its status is “active” even if the proximityserver PS has not instructed to activate the GPS, the proximity serverPS can then instruct the device to send GPS location periodicallybecause the GPS is already on.

Each edge in the proximity graph representing proximity between twodevices may have a time stamp value indicating when the proximitysensing was carried out. When new sensing information becomes available,the time stamp may be updated. The proximity may be sensed with varioustechniques, e.g. initial edge in the graph may be created based on NFC(near-field communication) touch gesture and the edge time stamp may beupdated based on Bluetooth discovery. In this case also the proximityDistance and Additional proximity data may be updated. Alternatively orin addition, the time stamp may be specific to a discovery channel, i.e.not just to the edge.

The various embodiments may improve the efficiency of proximitydetection through the use of proximity information and/or device statusinformation to control the proximal discovery, e.g. by exploiting thecharacteristics of different radio technologies. For example, it isrelatively safe to let two devices that hear different cellular basestations to discover their environment with Bluetooth simultaneously—dueto the shorter range of Bluetooth, the discovery signals would notdisturb each other (no collision would be caused). Correspondingly,devices hearing the same Wi-Fi (WLAN) access point are likely to berelatively near to each other.

If devices A, B and C are in the proximity of each other, the proximityserver PS may instruct the devices to perform the discovery so thattheir individual sensing periods do not overlap and hence block/disturbthe sensing. This may provide the advantage that discovery is moresuccessful than without this orchestrating.

The proximity server PS may command device A to function as a beacon(e.g. by transmitting audio or infrared light) and command devices B andC to listen to that beacon. The proximity server PS may choose anydevices that should participate to this, especially to test if devicesthat are known to be in the proximity (based on some other sensingtechnique, e.g. Bluetooth) are actually e.g. in the same room. Bluetoothmay indicate that the devices are near each other, but if they are notable to observe the beacon, it may be determined that they are not inthe same room.

The various embodiments may provide advantages. Orchestrating thediscovery based on status information may reduce unnecessary or failedproximity sensing e.g. in the situation of concurrent overlapping radionetworks of FIGS. 5 a and 5 d. The discovery control may also make itpossible to utilize device resources effectively, for example to savebattery, as in FIG. 5 b. Controlling the use of various discoverytechniques (for example, the use of several different techniques fordiscovery), the embodiments may use additional information (e.g. whichdevices are in the same room or otherwise densely arranged) incontrolling discovery. Relevance of discovery may also be improved e.g.by utilizing social network information in controlling discovery.

The various embodiments of the invention can be implemented with thehelp of computer program code that resides in a memory and causes therelevant apparatuses to carry out the invention. For example, a devicemay comprise circuitry and electronics for handling, receiving andtransmitting data, computer program code in a memory, and a processorthat, when running the computer program code, causes the terminal deviceto carry out the features of an embodiment. Yet further, a networkdevice may comprise circuitry and electronics for handling, receivingand transmitting data, computer program code in a memory, and aprocessor that, when running the computer program code, causes thenetwork device to carry out the features of an embodiment.

It is obvious that the present invention is not limited solely to theabove-presented embodiments, but it can be modified within the scope ofthe appended claims.

1-97. (canceled)
 98. A method, comprising: sending status information toa control device, receiving a discovery control signal from a controldevice, said discovery control signal having been formed at leastpartially based on said status information, and carrying out discoveryof proximal devices based on said discovery control signal.
 99. A methodaccording to claim 98, comprising: forming said status information tocomprise information on power source state of a device such as remainingbattery energy.
 100. A method according to claim 99, comprising:carrying out said discovery based on said discovery control signal andsaid power source state, for example by determining discovery frequencyat least partially based on remaining battery energy.
 101. A methodaccording to claim 98, comprising: determining a density measureindicative of proximal devices, for example using a number of detecteddevices or detected networks, and forming said status information tocomprise information on said density measure.
 102. A method according toclaim 98, comprising: forming said status information to compriseinformation on physical movement of a device, for example by using anaccelerometer.
 103. A method according to claim 98, comprising:determining a coarse proximity information related to at least one radiochannel, said coarse proximity information comprising information onavailability of said radio channel at a device, and forming said statusinformation to comprise information on said coarse proximityinformation.
 104. A method according to claim 98, comprising: sendingproximity information of discovered proximal devices to said controldevice for creation of said discovery control signal based on saidproximity information.
 105. A method, comprising: receiving statusinformation from at least one device, forming a discovery control signalbased at least partially on said received status information, andsending said discovery control signal to a first device for controllingdiscovery of proximal devices.
 106. A method according to claim 105,comprising: determining a density measure for location of devices; forexample using a number of detected devices or detected networks, and/orfrom said status information; and forming said discovery control signalbased on said density measure.
 107. A method according to claim 105,comprising: forming said discovery control signal based on physicalmovement of a device, for example by using information from anaccelerometer or positioning unit.
 108. A method according to claim 105,comprising: determining a coarse proximity information related to atleast one radio channel, said coarse proximity information comprisinginformation on availability of said radio channel at a device, andforming said discovery control signal based on said coarse proximityinformation.
 109. An apparatus comprising at least one processor, memoryincluding computer program code, the memory and the computer programcode configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatusto perform at least the following: send status information to a controldevice, receive a discovery control signal from a control device, saiddiscovery control signal having been formed at least partially based onsaid status information, and carry out discovery of proximal devicesbased on said discovery control signal.
 110. An apparatus according toclaim 109, further comprising computer program code configured to, withthe at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least thefollowing: determine a density measure indicative of proximal devices,for example using a number of detected devices or detected networks, andform said status information to comprise information on said densitymeasure.
 111. An apparatus according to claim 109, further comprisingcomputer program code configured to, with the at least one processor,cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: form said statusinformation to comprise information on physical movement of a device,for example by using an accelerometer.
 112. An apparatus according toclaim 109, further comprising computer program code configured to, withthe at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least thefollowing: determine a coarse proximity information related to at leastone radio channel, said coarse proximity information comprisinginformation on availability of said radio channel at a device, andforming said status information to comprise information on said coarseproximity information.
 113. An apparatus comprising at least oneprocessor, memory including computer program code, the memory and thecomputer program code configured to, with the at least one processor,cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receive statusinformation from at least one device, form a discovery control signalbased at least partially on said received status information, and sendsaid discovery control signal to a first device for controllingdiscovery of proximal devices.
 114. An apparatus according to claim 113,further comprising computer program code configured to, with the atleast one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least thefollowing: determine a density measure for location of devices; forexample using a number of detected devices or detected networks, and/orfrom said status information; and form said discovery control signalbased on said density measure.
 115. An apparatus according to claim 113,further comprising computer program code configured to, with the atleast one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least thefollowing: form said discovery control signal based on physical movementof a device, for example by using information from an accelerometer orpositioning unit.
 116. An apparatus according to claim 113, furthercomprising computer program code configured to, with the at least oneprocessor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following:determine a coarse proximity information related to at least one radiochannel, said coarse proximity information comprising information onavailability of said radio channel at a device, and form said discoverycontrol signal based on said coarse proximity information.
 117. Acomputer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readablemedium, comprising computer program code configured to, when executed onat least one processor, cause an apparatus or a system to: send statusinformation to a control device, receive a discovery control signal froma control device, said discovery control signal having been formed atleast partially based on said status information, and carry outdiscovery of proximal devices based on said discovery control signal.